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Friday, 23 June 2017

It is normally Trump's hands which get the press attention but his [coat of] arms have been in the news as well recently.

As Tian noted in her recent post on Trump's Chinese trade marks, Trump and the Trump organisation's trade mark filing practices have come under the spotlight in recent months.

The coat of arms issue is not new but has received more attention since Trump became president of the United States. In fact, there was a seminar on this topic back in March 2014 called ‘Coat of Arms and Trade Marks – Dual Protection or Mutual Antagonism?’ You can read the write up of the event here.

Trump's "coat of arms"
in his preferred colour

So what's the problem?

Basically, the family which built Mar-a-Lago used their family coat of arms throughout the Florida resort. The coat of arms was granted in 1939 to a British diplomat, Joseph Edward Davies. When Trump bought Mar-a-Lago he appropriated and commercialised the coat of arms which is now used on a range of products and merchandise from golf carts to socks. However, he made one important change, he removed the latin motto, INTEGRITAS (i.e. Integrity) and replaced it with his name, TRUMP. None of this was done with the Davies family's knowledge or permission.

According to the New York Times, Davies' heirs considered suing but decided it was significantly more trouble than it was worth. Misuse of a coat of arms

Whilst it may not have been worth taking action in the USA, the situation was slightly different in the UK which had granted the coat of arms in the first place.

This raises two related issues: use of the coat of arms and whether the coat of arms could be registered as a trade mark in the UK.

Scotland are having none of it -
this is the closest Trump can get in Scotland

Use of the coat of arms

Trump attempted to use the coat of arms on his Aberdeen golf course. However, he had not registered the arms or sought approval from the College of Arms or Lord Lyon (the Scottish equivalent) who objected to the Trump coat of arms being used in the UK on the basis that it had been lifted from an existing coat of arms.

According to the New York Times' interviewee, John Petrie, Rouge Croix Pursuivant of Arms at the college: "There needs to be at least two lineal differences from something that's been granted in the past." As far as the College of Arms is concerned, the motto, which was changed by the Trump organisation, does not form part of the design. This meant that the two arms were essentially identical.

Where having regard to matters coming to the notice of the registrar it appears to the registrar that a representation of any arms or insignia as is referred to in section 4(4) appears in a mark, the registrar shall refuse to accept an application for the registration of the mark unless satisfied that the consent of the person entitled to the arms has been obtained.

If you have an earlier right, the College of Arms or Lord Lyon are notified but the opposition period will run in the usual way. So if you happen to have a coat of arms, it is your responsibility to monitor the UK register unless you happen to also have a registered trade mark in which case you should be notified by the UK IPO.

"However, he had not registered the arms or sought approval from the College of Arms or Lord Lyon (the Scottish equivalent) who objected to the Trump coat of arms being used in the UK on the basis that it had been lifted from an existing coat of arms."

Ok and what exactly is the legal basis that prevents Trump from using the coat of arms in the UK?

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